Thank you, thank you. (Blush) (Bow)

Well, who would have thought!

As I lazily rolled out of bed this morning...uh...yeah, we'll still call that hour "morning"...I thought to myself, "Self, it's high time you stopped playing so much Warcraft and started paying more attention to your blog. That husband of yours is a bad influence."

Since my parents live on a different continent, sometimes I have to lecture myself.

Anyway, after the requisite morning ritual- stumble, bathroom, contacts, check weight (holy crap! Up 2 pounds in one day. TWO!), convince myself the scale is broken, Diet Coke- I log into my poor little lonely blog, and what do I find but a comment from one of my very bestest childhood friends, Halee, who gave me a little bloggy award! I've never had a blog award. I want that.

Thanks Halee! I love your blog and read it religiously (see the little linky to the right), even when you don't post anything new. No shame. You will always be a girl after my own heart- I still remember the time we made up from a fight over which neighborhood dog was better with a peace offering of marshmallows. I would have required a candy bar- you are a far better woman than I will ever be.

So, for the love of blogging, go check out Halee's blog, I Don't Make the News, I Just Report It. A sporting title, if I've ever seen one. You can almost hear the Halee southern twang in her writing (we grew up in Kentucky, y'all), and she just got engaged, so it will be great to hear about all the wedding planning stress fatigue frustration bankruptcy FUN!

So here we go with the fine print!

1. Link back and thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs.

4. Contact them and tell them about their award.

Grab a drink and a snack folks, Allie's got something to say. And we're off...

1. I have a tongue that never quits. Now hold up, reign it in. Pull your mind back into the daylight. I mean it's long. Nothing wrong with that. I can touch it to my nose. And I can make it do the wave (forward AND backward) and can flip it all the way over and can bend it in half hotdog style and hamburger style. Did your teachers ever instruct paper folding that way? You know, "Fold it in half, hotdog style." No? Ok.

From my best friend Cathy's wedding. There were drinks.

2. My life has been blessed. I was born and raised in Ashland, KY, which is the BEST place to raise a kid. We rode our bikes all around town without fear, and walked into our friends houses without knocking and had sleepovers every weekend with the kids in the neighborhood. I see children growing up now, and I'm sad they don't get to experience the same kind of freedom just to be a kid.

Then I moved to Greenwood, IN, which is the BEST place to be a teenager and baby-adult. There was plenty to do, I got a great job at a mom-and-pop grocery store, made awesome friends and had a blast.

Then I went to college at Taylor University, which is a fantastic Christian liberal arts school, and had a wholesome good time in the middle of a cornfield. Seriously, didn't drink a drop of alcohol and it was still the most fun I've ever had. Oh yeah, and I got a degree. Details, details.

Then, four days after graduating college, I moved to Washington, DC with a friend and a few dollars- no job, no apartment- and by the grace of God, made a real life there for the next 5 years. And met husband. Bonus points to DC.

And then, well, you know the rest, husband and I got hitched and 5 days later moved to Germany. And it has all been perfect. Fin.

3. I love Diet Coke. Like, love love. Like it's a good thing Husband came around before I found the Diet Coke factory or else I'd be a voluntary spinster kind of love. It's not just me- my whole family is in love. We are Diet Coke centric folk. My dad's job is to take out the trash and make sure we never run out. Ever.

At my twin sister's wedding. The most important shot of the day.

4. Speaking of love, I can't get enough Harry Potter. I know, Warcraft and Harry Potter. I can just hear the "unfollow" clicks now. I'm not ashamed! I'm currently reading through the books for the 7th time, and am loving it. I still hang on every word. When I was working from home as a Background Investigator in DC (which was a fascinating job), I would play the movies on a loop while I typed up reports. Every day. It was the only thing I would watch because I knew them so well it wasn't distracting. I was an investigator for 2 years guys- that's a lot of Hogwarts. I even went to the pre-opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Best Friend Cathy and her husband and, well, my husband, and It. Was. Awesome. As a disclaimer, I may love the series, but I've never dressed in HP garb. I do have my limits. And some shred of dignity. Ok, well, at least limits. 

Drinking Butterbeer in Hogsmeade. If you don't understand this, then we likely have differing literary preferences.

5. I used to bite my nails, but I stopped doing it years ago because my dad thought it was a dirty habit. So now I bite the skin around my nails. Meh. Whatcha gonna do?

6. I'm not suited for unemployment. I thought it would be great to be all freebird in Germany, cleaning the house, making dinners every night, learning German and whatnot. But in reality, it takes about 2 1/2 hours to get all that stuff done each day. The rest of the time I just play the Jeopardy music in my head while staring out the window. I can feel my brain atrophying.

7. I'm not star crazy, but would love to meet Dolly Parton, Alan Rickman and Jenny McCarthy. Dolly Parton because she is so down to earth and talented, and every interview I read of hers ends with a discussion of boobs and beauty and the interviewer being fed. Alan Rickman just to hear him speak my name, and Jenny McCarthy because she is hilarious and we should be bff. Read her Belly/Baby/Life Laughs books, you won't be disappointed. 

Oh how I would swoon.

Well, if you've made it this far then, (a) thank you- your patience is astounding, and (b) you are in for a real treat because here are the 5 blogs you will not want to live without.

Emily at Letters Moving. for some laughs.

The Urban Cowgirl for some fun.

Sara at Uninvented Colors to experience the beautiful way she sees the world.

Kelly at The Peanut Gallery for a challenge.

Kelly and David at Blomgren's Blog to support them in their journey toward adoption.